Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Division of Developmental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Cereb Cortex. 2019 Aug 14;29(9):3702-3711. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhy250.
Nonhuman primates, and great apes in particular, possess a variety of cognitive abilities thought to underlie human brain and cognitive evolution, most notably, the manufacture and use of tools. In a relatively large sample (N = 226) of captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) for whom pedigrees are well known, the overarching aim of the current study was to investigate the source of heritable variation in brain structure underlying tool use skills. Specifically, using source-based morphometry (SBM), a multivariate analysis of naturally occurring patterns of covariation in gray matter across the brain, we investigated (1) the genetic contributions to variation in SBM components, (2) sex and age effects for each component, and (3) phenotypic and genetic associations between SBM components and tool use skill. Results revealed important sex- and age-related differences across largely heritable SBM components and associations between structural covariation and tool use skill. Further, shared genetic mechanisms appear to account for a heritable link between variation in both the capacity to use tools and variation in morphology of the superior limb of the superior temporal sulcus and adjacent parietal cortex. Findings represent the first evidence of heritability of structural covariation in gray matter among nonhuman primates.
非人类灵长类动物，尤其是大型猿类，具有多种认知能力，这些能力被认为是人类大脑和认知进化的基础，其中最著名的是制造和使用工具。在一项针对具有良好血统记录的 226 只圈养黑猩猩（Pan troglodytes）的相对较大样本中，当前研究的首要目标是调查导致工具使用技能相关的大脑结构遗传性变异的来源。具体来说，使用基于源的形态计量学（SBM），对大脑中灰质自然变化的协变进行多元分析，我们研究了（1）SBM 成分中遗传贡献的变化，（2）每个成分的性别和年龄效应，以及（3）SBM 成分与工具使用技能之间的表型和遗传关联。结果揭示了 SBM 成分中重要的性别和年龄相关差异，以及结构协变与工具使用技能之间的关联。此外，共享的遗传机制似乎解释了工具使用能力和上颞叶优势支以及相邻顶叶皮层形态变异之间遗传变异的可遗传性联系。这些发现代表了非人类灵长类动物大脑灰质结构协变可遗传性的首个证据。
